Mont Olympe - Charleville-Mézières

A stone's throw from the Place Ducale , the 14-hectare Mont Olympe site is ideal for relaxation, leisure and tourism. The flowered clock was designed there in 1954.

It offers a range of facilities including a water sports centre, an aquatic centre, playgrounds, a marina, a municipal campsite and a park accessible to walkers via the Vieux Moulin footbridge, behind the Vieux Moulin or the Musée Rimbaud .

The footpaths lead to the top of this hill which, before Charleville was founded in the 17th century, was called the Chastelet hill, after the old Roman oppidum that protected the ancient Gallo-Roman city of Castrice. Charles de Gonzague built a small fortress here to protect his new city and port, which was destroyed at the end of the century on the orders of Louis XIV. The remains of an old watchtower, or Tour Lolot , can still be seen on the heights, named after the wealthy iron industrialist who owned a private park here.

The park was purchased by the city in 1927 and opened to the public, becoming a favorite spot for lovers for generations.

Willem Vandenameele